Rough Times Ahead

[dizzyizzy]

I'm so sorry to hear about your brother in law and grandma. I know what you're going through with your grandma. My dad's mom died a year ago from cancer and four months ago my mom's mom died from Lou Gehrig's disease (or ALS). These were definitely the toughest moments of my life. It all happened so fast. We weren't expecting them both to go so quickly. My mom's mom wasn't even diagnosed with ALS until two months before she died. My dad's mom had had cancer twice before and beaten the horrible disease just fine, but she couldn't do it anymore. Both of these diseases are just horrible! Something I did to make me realize things would be okay was I read Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. This is a sad story, but the man that it's about has the most positive attitude towards life and death. I highly recommend you read this and I hope things get better very quickly.

 

[Docnzhoss]

Thanks Ziffel and DizzyIzzy. I just read The Twelfth Angel by Og Marangino and it was absolutely horrible. I only read it because my sick grandma gave it to me. It's supposed to be some kind of inspirational story about never giving up. Unfortunately, I could never get into it for the author's use of Precious Moments-meets-Norman Rockwell's-paintings characters/dialogue. I might check out Tuesdays with Morrie, I've heard a lot about it. I'm actually still working on Tolstoy's War and Peace , a wonderful novel but at 1,400+ pages, it's tough to finish when you have very little time for reading.

 

[JaniceFerSure]

Hey Ryan,wondering if you read Five People You Meet in Heaven or have seen the movie.Other movies I recommend you see(if you haven't;if you have,to watch them again): City of Angels,Defending your Life,Beaches,Steel Magnolias,Awakenings,It's a Wonderful Life.Thanks for the update,hope your family is hanging in there as best as they can. <<HUGGS>>

 

[Katzi428]

Hi Doc/Ryan,
I'm sorry I haven't posted to this post lately. I just noticed it today.
Please know that you & your family are in my thoughts & prayers ((((Ryan)))))) I can't reiterate enough what everyone else has said. The Chicken Soup for the Soul books are good too.
Kathy

 

[Docnzhoss]

Hey Kathy, you've had enough going on lately to worry about which posts you've been able to read. Thanks for the kind words and I'll keep thinking about you, too.

Thanks Dee. No, I know you've talked up Five People You Meet in Heaven, but I haven't yet read it or seen it. In fact, of the movies you've mentioned, I've only seen Steel Magnolias and It's a Wonderful Life. I actually prefer to read and watch things that take my mind off my troubles, so I've recently seen Sin City, Alexander, Kung Fu Hustle, American Psycho and The Muppet Show Season 1, as well as continuing War and Peace, which has now raised the bar for me in literature for style, craftsmanship, content, everything. It is just a beautifully written novel and I'm only halfway through it.

Not that I'm trying to ignore all the things that have happened, or burying my feelings, I just find comfort in my style of movies and books. My wife and I actually just had a huge discussion. She couldn't figure out why I would want to watch such movies as American Psycho when I haven't really displayed much emotion regarding my grandma's condition or my dog's disappearance (missing for three months now). She thought she might have a reason to worry about me bottling things up. I had to explain that I'm not without feelings, I just don't let them show very often.

Sorry for the rant...thanks for thinking about me, everyone and I'll be talkin' to ya.

 

[JaniceFerSure]

You want stregnthening/forget-the-moment flicks then? Ok,well there are Tarantino flicks,Lethal Weapon,Die Hard series,Godfather I & II,Animal House,Star Wars(original trilogy),Norma Rae,Catch-22,K*** Bill,Shrek 2,most Mel Brooks films,National Lampoon's Vacation,The Ref,American Beauty,etc...

War and Peace,I can't imagine finding the time to read something of that legnth,good luck with that Ryan.

 

[Docnzhoss]

Okay, just found out last night that my grandma has six months or less to live. It's sad news, but I must admit that it's nice to have some kind of time-frame in mind. Before I found myself wondering if it would be two weeks or two years. It was determined that the cancer had spread throughout her body so thoroughly that it would do no good to go ahead with chemotherapy; the prognosis would be exactly the same. It was also discovered that her surgeon and two nurses can be held accountable for the paralysis in her legs. My parents' lawyer will go ahead with a lawsuit and hopefully win enough money to allow my grandma to have 24/7 care from the comforts of her home rather than a depressing old hospital.

My brother-in-law isn't faring very well, either. Turns out that the infection in his hand is so bad that surgery could not be performed on his three remaining digits and he now faces the risk of losing his entire hand.

I just want to thank everyone for their continued support. I really appreciate everyone's kind words and advice and I will hopefully be around the forums more in the very near future.

 

[Ziffel]

I'm very sorry about this double bad news, Docnzhoss. My thoughts and continued prayers are with you and yours. At least your grandmother won't have to go through the chemo that often takes away so much energy. And I pray your brother will be able to come through on his hand.
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Docnzhoss}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

We're bracing for my great aunt's possible death soon, too. She has really declined a lot lately. She didn't recognize me, my brother, or my niece (5 months old now) when we visited her the other day. Really breaks your heart to see.

 

[Docnzhoss]

It really is horrible when a loved one can't remember who you are. I had a great-aunt who died of Alzheimer's; she had gotten so bad that she kind of time-traveled in her mind and thought she was living life in her late teens/early twenties years, mistaking her daughter for her sister.

I'm sorry you're going through this, Ziffel. You've really been there with a lot of kind and encouraging words and I hate knowing that you're going through a rough time of your own. You'll pull through fine though, if you live by the inspiration that you've had for me.

 

[Ziffel]

Thank you for that, Docnzhoss. And amen to that.
The other day my great aunt was slightly more coherent. Overall she keeps declining but we're thankful for the times when she does have more up moments.

Many blessings to your grandmother and brother-in-law. I'm praying and pulling for them.